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pup prices

Man! Started looking at litters again to add a pup and I am just amazed. there were some reasonable priced litters but there just seems to be alot more that are just pipe dream prices. Are they actually moving these dogs at the price. Example- I;ve seen a couple litters from a JH X JH priced at $700 - $1200!

I thought we were in a recession? Did I miss something in the last couple years? Last time I was in the market there were plenty of litters of FC AFC X brood bitch getting $750 - $1000. Or MH x MH for 500-600. A friends litter UH HRCH x UH HRCH and all the health just went for $750.

I guess you missed a lot.......... The price of the puppy is the least amount you will spend on that pup if you are going to take it to his/her potential.

If you are worried about the price of the pup then most breeders wouldn't even consider selling you a pup. The pedigree and maybe even more the socialization that the pup gets from it's breeders is worth more than any price paid for the pup, so find a breeder that provides that "priceless" early start and save more than the price of the pup in training fees.

It comes down to what kind of dog and breeder you want. I figure the direct cost of breeding (FC by artificial insemination), vet care for pups (two vet visits to my house, dew claw removal, vaccinations, microchipping), feeding, etc., at about $4-5000 per litter. In the worst case, there may be no pups (as happened to me last spring with $3500 in non-refundable breeding costs). With a litter of 8 pups, that's $500-650 per puppy before you consider the cost for the female, including genetic testing, training, titling, etc., and before you consider the long hours that go into breeding, whelping and raising a litter of pups assuming you do it correctly.

Even at $1000/pup the potential for "profit" is minimal. The easy "solution" is to cut back on the cost of the pups by reducing breeding costs (use a sire with a lower stud fee that is located nearby to avoid AI costs or long distance breeding costs), have dew claws removed and vaccinations done by the breeder to avoid vet bills, breed females more often, eliminate health guarantees, have females that are pure brood bitches that are not trained or titled, etc. Most amateur breeders breeding titles females are not factoring the full cost of the female into the pricing equation. If they did, the "cost" of an MH or QAA bitch might easily add $500/pup to the cost ($15000/30 pups).

Personally, I see no reason to sell FC sired pups for less than $1000 since that is the going local price for a puppy mill Lab from a local pet store -- in-bred lines, no health clearances, no socialization, ACA registration. Interestingly, many people looking for high quality hunting/hunt test dogs or FT prospects may balk at those prices. People looking for pets consider the prices to be low. Go figure....

My others were in the 400-800 range, Seren was 1500, I did blink but am so happy I plunked that money down. In the long run, the price you pay for the pup is nothing compared to everything else you put into the dog. Geez, the price for the pro training alone would have bought at least 2 of her....and we are still going! My thinking is you have to pay for the thought the breeder has put into who should be bred to who and not just thinking of breeding the 2 flavors of the month. JMHO, Jean

I used to think that it was crazy some of the prices people were charging. As others have stated. When you figure in the costs of Test, Trials, Breedings etc. Even at over $1000.00 a pup you are still in the hole.
Sure you might get lucky and find a breeder asking $500.00 for a pup and maybe you get lucky. You may also find a pup for $1200.00 and maybe it doesnt' turn out. It is pot luck, but I'll lay my money on the better breeding.

Man! Started looking at litters again to add a pup and I am just amazed. there were some reasonable priced litters but there just seems to be alot more that are just pipe dream prices. Are they actually moving these dogs at the price. Example- I;ve seen a couple litters from a JH X JH priced at $700 - $1200!
I thought we were in a recession? Did I miss something in the last couple years? Last time I was in the market there were plenty of litters of FC AFC X brood bitch getting $750 - $1000. Or MH x MH for 500-600. A friends litter UH HRCH x UH HRCH and all the health just went for $750.

What did I miss?

I would not pay that much for a JH X JH pup. You can still get a very nice pup for $1000.

There are at least 3x the number of tests/health clearances as we had to do in the past (if you wanted to be responsible that is). It's nothing to spend $1000 for basic health testing anymore, with no guarantees you will have a breedable dog in the end. Stud fees, vet costs and entry fees are at least double now than they were just 8-9 yrs ago. People expect more in the way of care and socialization--- we keep pups til 8 wks regularly now, instead of 6-7 wks. I could go on and on, but won't. I have a litter of pups to check on!

I certainly don't breed very often, but I've always tried to keep prices reasonable. Since I won't ship a pup, a buyer either has to fly or drive to my home to choose and pick up his/her puppy and airline tickets aren't always cheap--another reason to keep prices within reason. So far the buyers I have for this litter say they'll either drive or fly--no problem.

My vets spent a good 5 hours at my house making sure all the pups were okay and it's a good thing they did. That last puppy was pretty well stuck and Amy was exhausted, but they managed to get him out without doing a c-section or having any problem--although Amy looked totally dumbstruck wheh they used a maneuver designed to retrieve pups that were beginning to stress. And, they came back the next day to remove dew claws--I felt their bill was very reasonable.